Any comeback on a private purchase?

Emma867

Is there?

I purchased a Renault Megane Coupe 2 days ago from a private seller.

All seemed in order - full service history, HPI check fine etc etc.

Driving home from work lastnight and the engine maintenance light came on for 10secs then went off. Came back on again close to home for another few seconds or so.

O/H had a look under bonnet - only thing he did see is the air conditioning connection to the pump had completely sheared off.

Took it to my friends house who had a look and he noticed it was losing a little bit of water (couple of mm) but couldn't find where it was going to. He recommend I book it in for a compression test to find the source of the problem.

*sigh*

Really annoyed that I'm already dealing with problems 48hrs in. Is there any point contacting the buyer? Do I have any rights?

:mad:

vaio

Unless it was wrongly described or he’s a trader masquerading as a private seller you are pretty much on your own.

Could you expand on the losing water bit? Couple of mm from where? and over what time?

Does it run fine otherwise?

custardy

Emma867 wrote: »

Is there?

I purchased a Renault Megane Coupe 2 days ago from a private seller.

All seemed in order - full service history, HPI check fine etc etc.

Driving home from work lastnight and the engine maintenance light came on for 10secs then went off. Came back on again close to home for another few seconds or so. did the cars running/performance change?

O/H had a look under bonnet - only thing he did see is the air conditioning connection to the pump had completely sheared off. well did the AC work when you checked the car over?

Took it to my friends house who had a look and he noticed it was losing a little bit of water (couple of mm) but couldn't find where it was going to. He recommend I book it in for a compression test to find the source of the problem. you need to give more info on this

*sigh*

Really annoyed that I'm already dealing with problems 48hrs in. Is there any point contacting the buyer? Do I have any rights?

:mad:

as said you dont really have any recourse legally

Emma867

Sorry for ramblings - my posts make sense to me but not others :p

Hang on..

Emma867

vaio wrote: »

Unless it was wrongly described or he’s a trader masquerading as a private seller you are pretty much on your own.

Didn't appear to be. I've met a couple of 'those' and it didn't appear that way.

Could you expand on the losing water bit? Couple of mm from where? and over what time?

Originally went to see my friend with my concerns about the maintenance light and the sheared part. He said the part was an air cond connector (or perhaps a more technical word I have no idea) which connects to the pump and was not a big deal. He spent an hour or so looking over the car and he noted the water level had dropped a little in the water pump bottle, but he couldn't find out where it had gone too.

Does it run fine otherwise?

Runs lovely

Emma867

Hang on I'm making a right hash of this

Emma867

Reply to Custard:

did the cars running/performance change?

No, it stayed the same.


O/H had a look under bonnet - only thing he did see is the air conditioning connection to the pump had completely sheared off. well did the AC work when you checked the car over?

Admit - didn't check. I pressed the button for the air con and the l.e.d came on but I didn't wait to see if cool air came out.

Took it to my friends house who had a look and he noticed it was losing a little bit of water (couple of mm) but couldn't find where it was going to. He recommend I book it in for a compression test to find the source of the problem. you need to give more info on this

Because he couldn't find where the water was going to (see post above) he advised I book in into a garage for a 'compression check' to find the source. He said this test would identify if the water was going into the engine or if it was a pump/pipe issue.


*sigh*

Really annoyed that I'm already dealing with problems 48hrs in. Is there any point contacting the buyer? Do I have any rights?

:mad:as said you dont really have any recourse legally

Didn't think I would to be honest. I feel like throttling the guy I brought it from.

anewman

There's no certainty there's anything wrong as yet. Air con pipe probably just needs reconnecting and the system re-gassing.

A sniffer test is probably more appropriate than a compression test if head gasket failure is suspected. Is there gunk (like mayonnaise) under the oil cap/does it look like the seller has given it a clean? What does the oil look like? - black/golden = good, like chocolate milkshake = bad. Is there any white smoke coming from the exhaust? (I don't mean just condensation when first starting up, I mean when the car has warmed up).

If coolant level is dropping... Bear in mind it will be higher when warm. It may be as simple as a hose clip being loose/a split hose. Sometimes these can be extremely difficult to locate, particularly if it leaks to somewhere it quickly boils off to be undetected.

Emma867

Hi anewman

My friend who looked at the car is a college tutor in Mechanics and he basically said (in laymans terms for me) that he couldn't see anything suss. The oil looked fine, nothing dodgy from the exhaust and no gunk.

Sniffer test? Is this a technical term or is it stick your head inside and sniff? Sorry if that sounds like a really dumb question! (It smells fine btw)

mikey72

What it advertised as having air con?
If it was you have a good claim, ignoring the rest of the problems.

Emma867

mikey72 wrote: »

What it advertised as having air con?
If it was you have a good claim, ignoring the rest of the problems.

Yes, it was advertised as having air con.